Travelling by rail from the UK is a refreshingly different way to reach your holiday, as we explain in more detail on our rail pages, and the generous luggage allowance means that you can pack all you can comfortably carry.

We publish ‘by rail’ prices for those holidays which you can reach comfortably in a day from London. However, it is possible to reach many more holidays by staying overnight in a city along the route or taking a sleeper train, so please contact us to discuss your plans.

There can be few more splendid places to begin a journey than at elegant London St Pancras station, whose grandeur and bustle rekindles the excitement of travel. Having left London, the Eurostar speeds across Kent in just 35 minutes, stopping at Ebbsfleet International to collect more passengers before whisking you through the Channel Tunnel and across northern France to Paris, Lille or Brussels to link with other rail services.

Transferring from Eurostar onto the European rail network is easy: at Brussels Midi and Lille Europe stations, you simply change platforms. In Paris, you take direct Métro or RER services (tickets and directions included) from the Eurostar Terminal to other mainline stations, with the option of breaking your journey in the French capital for up to 24 hours without increasing the fare. (We will be happy to book the intimate, centrally located Hotel St Paul Rive Gauche for you.)

Holidays in France

Reaching France by rail can be simpler than flying, with many of our holidays reachable within a 6- to 9-hour rail journey from London, and even remote regions like the Basque Pyrenees accessible within 11 hours. What’s more, instead of planning your holiday around a weekly flight to a small regional airport, you can travel on the dates of your choice.

After alighting from Eurostar in Paris and hopping onto the Métro, within 25 minutes you can be at your next station sipping a drink, waiting to board your TGV or Intercity train.

If you’re heading towards Provence and the south-east, you may not have to cross Paris. Instead, change platforms at Lille to join the TGV. This route offers some wonderful scenery as you glide past hill-top towns and rolling hills, repeatedly crossing the River Rhône on spectacular viaducts. During the summer, there are four direct Eurostar services per week between St Pancras and Avignon which make the journey even easier.

Holidays in Spain

Our Catalan holidays are all within a 9- to 10-hour rail journey from London. Leave St Pancras by Eurostar at around 9am and, after lunch at Paris Gare de Lyon, take your seat on the TGV heading direct to either Figueres or Girona, where a pre-booked taxi awaits. It’s high-speed almost all the way, past rolling hills and hill-top villages, while conveniently slowing down by the Mediterranean coast for some of the best views. It’s well worth booking first class on this TGV.

For holidays in the heart of the Pyrenees, or for those in Andalucia or the Balearics, we can arrange for you to continue on the TGV direct to Barcelona for a night at the 4-star Hotel Colon, close to La Rambla. The following morning, take a scenic mountain railway into the Pyrenees; catch a ferry to the Balearics; or continue by high-speed AVE train to Málaga or Seville (6 hours) for holidays in Andalucia.

Holidays in Italy

Reaching Italy is equally simple, taking a mid-afternoon TGV from Paris Gare de Lyon. After watching hill-top villages whizz past at 186mph, you leave the Rhône Valley behind to cross the Alps at a gentler pace, arriving in the evening at Turin Porta Susa station. We offer a choice of 4-star hotels in Turin where you can break your journey. Then take a train to Milan Centrale (up to 1h30) where Italy’s high-speed lines converge, making it easy to change to the comfortable Frecciarossa or Frecciabianca services to Bologna (1h05), Verona (1h25), Florence (1h45), Venice (2h35), Rome (3h), Naples (4h40) or Brindisi (8h30).

Holidays in Switzerland

The vast majority of our Swiss destinations can be reached in a day’s travel from St Pancras. The high-speed TGV from Paris Gare de Lyon connects at Basel, Lausanne or Geneva with the highly efficient and integrated Swiss transport system. This is relaxed, independent travel at its finest, with Swiss rail services connecting with boats and post buses to take you to the remotest of valleys.

For holidays in the Engadine Valley, we recommend breaking the journey in Zürich. After a night of traditional Swiss hospitality at the Hotel Adler, in the Old Town, enjoy the most spectacular part of your journey, skirting the shores of Lake Zürich and heading through idyllic valleys toward the mountains.

Holidays in Germany

Most of our German destinations are within a day’s travel from St Pancras, with the Black Forest and the Moselle Valley both a 9- to 10-hour ride from London, via Paris.

For our Bavarian holidays, we suggest an overnight stay in Paris or Munich, to break the 12- to 13-hour journey and to enable you to enjoy the best of the scenery by daylight.

Holidays in Holland

Amsterdam is now just 3 hours and 45 minutes from London by direct Eurostar. Travelling home from Gouda, a local train takes you to Rotterdam Central to join the high-speed Thalys back to Brussels, reaching London within 6 hours.

Holidays in Austria & Slovenia

For holidays in these countries, depart from St Pancras in the middle of the morning and change in Paris on to the direct TGV to Munich (6h30), where you stay overnight. From Munich, you can reach Austria in half a day (3h30 for Salzkammergut or 4h30 for the Danube Valley), or Slovenia by dinner (5h30-6h, having departed from Munich at lunchtime). Alternatively, rather than breaking your journey in Munich, you can travel overnight by EuroNight sleeper train.

Holidays in the Czech Republic

Take an early afternoon Eurostar, changing at Brussels to a high-speed train to Cologne. From Cologne, travel overnight in a two-berth ensuite cabin, with breakfast included, on the Austrian Railways EuroNight sleeper to Vienna, from where you can reach Moravia in 2 hours.

Holidays further afield

We can also arrange longer itineraries that incorporate ferry crossings to Norway, Sicily and Morocco. You could choose a leisurely outward journey with stops along the way, before returning by high-speed train or perhaps by air. The essence of rail travel with Inntravel is flexibility.

Our ‘by rail’ prices – what’s included

The ‘by rail’ prices all include:

• return Eurostar from London St Pancras, Ebbsfleet or Ashford in standard class to Lille, Paris or Brussels. On selected dates we can also offer the direct Eurostar services from London to Lyon and Avignon.

• return onward rail in standard class to the station closest to your holiday. Often this will be by high-speed or long-distance train with connecting regional rail.

• where necessary, connecting taxi transfer, scheduled bus and/or car hire from the local station to your accommodation.

The tickets which we provide can only be used on the dates and times specified and cannot be changed or refunded.

Our ‘by rail’ prices are based on tariffs negotiated with the rail companies and are subject to availability. Seats for Eurostar and other high-speed trains become available to book between 3 and 6 months before travel. If you make your booking with Inntravel more than 3 months before your holiday, we guarantee the rail price quoted in the brochure. For later bookings, there may be no seats available at the guaranteed prices, but we may be able to offer you seats on the same services at a supplement.

For holidays with ‘by rail’ prices, we show a brief synopsis of the normal route and an overall approximate journey duration. These are intended as a guide only, based on the previous season’s timetable with departures from St Pancras. Various route options may be possible, and journey durations will vary according to the route taken and the day of travel. We will discuss options with you when you book.

Seating preferences

On most local and regional commuter trains, seat reservations are neither necessary nor possible, but we reserve seats on long-distance and high-speed services. We endeavour to book the best available seats for you, but please note that certain requirements such as forward-facing seats cannot be guaranteed. If you have specific requirements, please discuss these with us when making your initial holiday booking.

Upgrades

The main advantage of upgrading to first class on European high-speed trains is the added space with wider reclining seats. Meals are not included in first class on most TGV and European high-speed trains.

Eurostar’s Standard Premier class offers generous reclining seating, with a continental breakfast of pastries, fruit and yoghurt served at your seat with a cup of tea or Lavazza coffee. For departures after 11am, a light cold meal is served.

Travelling from elsewhere in the UK

If you have a long journey between home and St Pancras, we would be pleased to adapt our routes to dovetail with your UK rail journey, perhaps adding an overnight stay in Paris or another city along the way.
In terms of connection times, we recommend allowing at least 90 minutes at St Pancras (which is a short stroll from Kings Cross) before departure for check-in and security.

Advance Passenger Information (API)

The UK government requires carriers (including airlines and rail and ferry operators) to collect API for passengers on routes to and from the UK, and governments of some other countries require similar information. API is sometimes collected as you check in and is normally restricted to the standard information contained in machine-readable passports, such as full given names, date of birth, nationality, gender, passport number, date of issue and expiry. However, some countries require the information to be submitted in advance of departure and some governments collect additional information such as your destination address. Where we have made travel arrangements on your behalf and your carrier requires the information in advance, we will collect the information from you and submit it to your travel provider. Please be assured that we have measures in place to protect the personal information you provide to us, as explained in our privacy policy.